Companion planting vegetable gardens is an historic and customary apply for dwelling gardeners, probably the most well-known trio being the “Three Sisters” planting of corn, pole beans, and squash, cultivated by the Iroquois and the Cherokee for tons of of years. Each plant within the trio advantages one another – the corn offers a trellis for beans, the beans present nitrogen for the soil, and the squash protects from pests and offers shade for the soil. However do you know there are herbs that develop properly collectively, too?
There are lots of causes to plant an herb backyard past their culinary makes use of. Very similar to companion planting veggies, the traits of sure herbs make them develop properly collectively by attracting pollinators, repelling pests, and offering much-needed shade to companions. Disharmony happens when herbs unfold aggressively, want completely different rising situations, or are allelopathic, stunting the expansion of close by vegetation, so some ought to by no means be planted collectively.
I like to consider co-planting herbs as recipes; completely different components all come collectively and meld into one thing scrumptious. However, like recipes, some are complementary, whereas others are incompatible.
Complementary Combos
A good way to work smarter and never tougher in your backyard is by co-planting your herb backyard with vegetation benefitting one another.
I discover it useful to have a couple of “groupings” of herbs all through the backyard as an alternative of a single herb backyard to distribute the advantages of herbs evenly and cut back the unfold of illness that may occur when the identical vegetation are planted too intently. These herbs needs to be planted shut collectively—however what does “shut” imply precisely? Usually, they’re planted inside one to a few rows of one another.
In all of those plant pairings, be at liberty to depart out what you don’t want and use the remaining. For instance, if in case you have no use for bay leaves, depart that out and plant the others.
Basil, Oregano, Parsley
Have you ever heard of a pizza backyard? Sadly – precise pizzas don’t develop contemporary from the vine, however all of the substances used to make pizza do! Basil, oregano, and parsley are wonderful herbs for a pizza backyard due to their comparable rising situations. Basil is a well known companion to tomatoes and grows properly with garlic, onions, and bell peppers. Its oils additionally repel mosquitos and flies. If you happen to actually wish to dive into the pizza theme – strive planting wheat in your yard.
Bay Laurel, Rosemary, Sage
Dried bay leaves are offered in teeny tiny jars within the spice aisle for a hefty markup. Rising your very personal Laurus nobilis is an effective way to dry your contemporary bay leaves for soups and stews and have an attractive plant.
Bay laurel is a Mediterranean plant that grows finest in delicate climates with full solar and well-drained soil on the drier aspect. Rosemary and sage are herbs that develop properly along with bay laurel. Due to their shared rising situations, these vegetation are nice companions.
For a pure insecticide, do an alcohol extraction of the herbs. Attempt combining dried bay laurel, cayenne pepper, peppermint, and tansy and sprinkle the combination across the backyard.
Cilantro, Chives, Dill
Take into consideration rising situations – cilantro, also referred to as coriander internationally, grows finest in full solar with afternoon shade and constantly moist soil. Chives and dill have comparable rising situations, making them wonderful neighbors for cilantro. Anise, a spice and herb with a licorice taste, aids in cilantro’s seed germination as a bonus.
With their sturdy scent, chives repel bugs like beetles, cabbage worms, slugs, carrot flies, and aphids, which is especially useful when planted close to tomatoes and carrots. Flowering chives paired with flowering dill entice predators of the Colorado potato beetle, which eats away at eggplants and potatoes.
Mint, Lemon Balm, Thyme
Whereas mint shouldn’t be usually recognized for taking part in good with others as a result of its tendency to unfold aggressively, lemon balm and thyme are nice matches for co-planting since all of them belong to the mint household.
Whereas they’re all nice companions, maintain them confined to a big container or raised mattress—you don’t need different herbs dragged in!
Be aware: Whereas catnip can also be a powerful spreader, keep away from planting it close to mint as mint is poisonous to cats. We’d nonetheless encourage you to plant catnip to permit the cat distribution system to work as supposed.
Mates to All
Some vegetation make nice associates with practically each plant by attracting helpful bugs and enhancing the flavors of surrounding vegetation. With no enemies, listed here are a couple of nice herbs that develop properly along with virtually another plant within the backyard:
Chamomile
With no enemies, chamomile is a must have for an natural or veggie backyard. It’s nice for attracting pollinators, repelling pests, and enhancing the flavour and important oil manufacturing of herbs. The herb itself can be utilized for teas, tinctures, and whilst a pure insect repellent for people and pets.
Yarrow
Not solely is yarrow stunning within the backyard and as a lower flower, but it surely’s a tremendously useful companion to herb and veggie gardens. It attracts and offers a habitat to native bees and helpful bugs like lacewings, girl beetles, and parasitic wasps, recognized predators of pests like aphids, flea beetles, and potato bugs. Moderately than planted in backyard beds, yarrow is finest planted alongside backyard borders.
Marjoram
Marjoram, an herb used to infuse a woody and citrus taste into salads, dressings, sauces, and meat, is a pal to all herbs. When planted close to different herbs and greens, it enhances their taste, encourages the expansion of surrounding vegetation, and attracts a slew of pollinators, together with honeybees, bumblebees, hoverflies, moths, and butterflies.
Forbidden Plantings
Although there may be a lot mixing and matching, there are a couple of herbs that ought to by no means be planted collectively. Natural foes and adversaries needs to be planted at the least two to a few rows aside, or extra in case you can!
Rue, Basil, Sage
Rue, also referred to as herb-of-grace, is an historic medicinal herb. Nevertheless, you’ll doubtless by no means come throughout it because it’s not a typical culinary herb. However simply in case you’re an aficionado or it out of the blue comes again in reputation, do remember the fact that it’s an arch nemesis of basil, sage, and mint, stunting their progress by way of an allelopathic compound.
Sage does poorly with basil as a result of their reverse rising situations—basil likes moist soil, whereas sage prefers dry soil. Sage has some allelopathic properties, that means it produces pure herbicides within the soil to inhibit the expansion of neighboring vegetation. Nevertheless, the jury remains to be out on how a lot of an influence cultivated sage has on neighboring vegetation.
Mint, Parsley, and Different Tender Herbs
Cocktails, mocktails, and tea all style higher with a bit of sprint of mint. When planted close by, it enhances the flavour of peas and retains away pests.
Whereas mint is nice in some ways, it’s an aggressive spreader and might shortly outcompete tender herbs like parsley within the backyard. Mint is finest planted in a container distant from different vegetation. It can be planted with different spreaders that may stand their floor, like lemon balm, thyme, or oregano.
Fennel, Cilantro, Caraway
Fennel is a recognized public enemy of most neighbors however for various causes than mint. Fennel releases an allelopathic compound, discouraging the expansion of many different vegetation, together with caraway, beans, carrots, tomatoes, and a few brassicas. Cilantro is an particularly poor companion for fennel as a result of it impedes fennel’s seed manufacturing, one in every of its most beloved options.
That doesn’t imply it is best to keep away from planting fennel utterly – practically each a part of the plant could be grilled, sliced, dried, or used as a garnish. It has a wealthy historical past in drugs and folklore however is now used primarily for culinary functions. Fennel is present in teas, salads, stews, slaws, and even desserts.
If planting fennel, use a big, deep container or plant it a number of ft away from its enemies. Some backyard literature suggests rising dill close to fennel, however I don’t suggest this, as cross-pollination could result in an unappealing bitter taste.
Remaining Ideas
The underside line is that herbs that develop properly collectively are people who share solar, soil, and progress habits. There are a couple of exceptions, like allelopathic vegetation or vegetation that crowd out their neighbors.
Not solely are herbs a deal with for the senses and in dishes, however additionally they have a lot of different advantages for the backyard. By grouping helpful herbs and veggies, you’ll maximize the profit to your backyard by attracting pollinators and repelling pests.